Improved bread and meat slicer



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

HIRAM M. SHAI AND CHARLES B. STILVELL, OF FREMONT, OHIO.

IMPROVED BREAD ANDLMEAT SLICER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,150, dated vJanuary3l, 1865.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that we, HIRAM M. SHAW andCHARLES B. STILWELL, of Fremont, in the county of Sandusky and State ofOhio, have invented a new and Improved Device for Sliciug Bread, Meat,Vegetables, Snc.; and we do hereby declare that theibllowingis afull,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled inthe art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aside view of our invention 5 Fig. 2, afront view of the same Fig. 3, alongitudinal vertical section of the same, taken in the line x x, Fig.2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to anew and improved implement 0r device forcutting or slicing bread, dried beef, vegetables, and other articles orsubstances; and it consists in the employment or use ofa rising andfalling gate or sash with a gage and knife attached, the latter having,besides the rising and fallin g movement given it by the gate, areciprocating movement, the gage being adjustable, and all arranged inrelation with a feed-box in such a manner that by the turning of a shaftcontinuously in one Vdirection the article or substance within thefeedbox will be cut or sliced expeditiously, and with but a moderate eX-penditure of power.

A represents a feed box, which may be of rectangular form, open at thetop and ends, and supported at a suitable height by legs or any properframing. The mfront legs of the feed-box extend upward some distanceabovev it to form guides a a. for a rectangular sash or gate, B, thesides b b of which are grooved vertically at their inn er surfaces toreceive the guides a a. The lower end of each side b of the sash or gateB has an eye or bearing, C, attached to it, in each of which a rod,D, isfitted, the upper parts of the latter, which are fitted in said eyes orbearings, having a horizontal position, with a screw-thread cut on theirrear ends to receive thumb nuts E. The front parts of the rods D l) arecurved for a short distance toward each other, and are then bentdownward in a vertical direction, and

have a board, F, secured between them, said board performing thefunction of a gage, as hereinafter described.

G represents the bottom of the feed-box A. This bottom is adjustable,and its front end is fitted under a fixed metal plate, H,.which is atthe front end and lower part of the feedboX, said bottom rest-ing on across-bar, c, which is framed into the front legs of the device. Thebottom G, near its rear part, rests on a cross-bar, d, which i's framedinto the rear legs of the device, or rather it rests upon a verticalscrew, I, which passes through said cross-bar d and presses the bottomagainst the under surfaces of the sides c of the feed-box, and preventsthe bottom from casually moving.

H -represents a horizontal knife, which' is attached to the gate or sashB by means of screws f f, the latter passing through horizontal slots gg in the knife H, which slots are of sucient length to admit of the-desired degree of lateral movement or play of the knife. (See Fig. 2.)This knife is near the lower end of the sash or gate B, and it isallowed to work freely on the screws ff. It is connected by a screw, h,to the lower end of a bent or right-angular lever, I, the fulcrum-pin t'of which passes into the center of the top piece, j, of the sash or gateB. The screw h passes through an oblong slot, le, in the lower part ofthe lever I into the knife, as shown in Fig. l, and the upper part ofsaid lever at its outer end is bent around or backward by the side ofthe sash or gate, and is connected by arod, J, to a pin or wrist, l, atthe outer end of a crank, K, which is at one end of a shaft, L, thebearin gs m of the latter being attached to the front legs of the deviceunderneath the feed-box A. The opposite end of the shaft L is providedwith a crank, M, having two wrists, on the lower one of which a handle,N, is fit-ted for turning the shaft, the other wrist being connected bya rod, O, to one side of the sash or gate B, a similar rod, O',connecting the opposite side of the sash or gate with a wrist on crankK.

From the above description it will be seen that as the shaft Lis turnedarising and falling movement will be given the sash or gate B and knifeHthrough the medium of the rods O O and cranks K M, and a horizontalreciprocating movement at the same time communicated to the knife H,through the medium of the lever I, rod J, and crank K. The knife Htherefore operates with a drawing cut, and performs its work withfacility, said knife, when near the termin ation of its downwardmovement, passing close to the edge of plate H. rIhe gage Frises andfalls with the sash or gate B, and determines the thickness of theslices `to be cut from the article or substance in the feedboX, theoperator shovin said article or substance against the gage each time theknife passes above the substance in the upward movement of the sash orgate. The thickness of the slices may be graduated by adjusting the gageF through the medium ofthe thumbnuts E.

The bottom G of the feed-box is adjusted so that its front end willserve as a bearing for the gage, to prevent the latter being pushedbackward, the bottom being adjusted each time the gage is adjusted.

Thus by this simple arrangement we obtain a rising and falling knifehaving a reciprocating movement or drawing out, and also obtain anadjustable gage for graduating the thickness'of the slices into whichthe article or subi i stance is to be cut, and the knife operated by acontinuous rotary movement of a shaft.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patentl. The knife H, attached to a sash or gate,

B, having a rising and falling movement communicated to it by cranks andconnecting-rods or their equivalents, and the knife having an automaticreciprocating movement communicated to it from the sash or gate throughthe medium of the lever I and rod J, from the crank or driving shaft,substantially as and forY the purpose set forth.

2. The adjustable gage F, attached to the sash or gate B, substantiallyas shown, when usedin combination with the knife H, and all arranged tooperate substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. rlhe adjustable bottom G, in combination with the gage F and knife H,all arranged to operate as and for the purpose set forth.

HIRAM M. SHAW. CHARLES B. STILWELL. NVitiiesses:

N. D. Porn, JAs. H. S'rnvnNsoN.

